Luxury developer Fenton Whelan has notched up more than £75 million in sales across its prime central London portfolio over the past 16 weeks, led by a new cohort of younger buyers from the Middle East acquiring high-spec, turn-key homes overlooking Hyde Park and in the heart of Mayfair.
The developer said demand has been strongest at Park Modern (main picture), its £530 million flagship overlooking Hyde Park, where a series of substantial deals have completed as the scheme enters its final sales phase.
Further sales have been concluded at Greybrook House, its boutique £65 million redevelopment opposite Claridge’s Hotel, which is now officially sold out.
Fenton Whelan and Beauchamp Estates, which acted as selling agent at Greybrook House, said the largest buyer group comprised UHNW purchasers from Gulf states – couples and families in their 30s and 40s seeking ready-to-use London homes. Significant interest has also come from buyers in the US, UK and Asia.
LUXURY TURN-KEY LIVING
Park Modern offers 57 one-to six-bedroom residences, most of which sold off plan, with the remaining lateral apartments and penthouses now available for immediate occupation.
The development delivers more than 30,000 sq ft of hotel-style amenities, including a 24-hour concierge, residents’ lounges, valet parking and a dedicated wellbeing floor with a 25-metre pool, vitality pool, spa facilities, a gym, private cinema and salon.
Photo Credit: Fenton Whelan/Grant Silverman
Services are operated by luxury residential management firm Rhodium, which also provides housekeeping, laundry, floral arrangements, private transport bookings and in-residence maintenance.
The scheme also houses The Park Restaurant – a grand café and brasserie run by restaurateur Jeremy King – with double-height ceilings and expansive views over Hyde Park.
Buyers, the developer said, have been drawn to the “turn-key” nature of the product as well as the quality of design.
Phone credit: Fenton Whelan/Grant Silverman
Park Modern’s architecture, by Lee Polisano of PLP Architecture, offers a contemporary wave-form façade, floor-to-ceiling glazing and south-facing terraces overlooking the park and Kensington Palace Gardens.
BESPOKE ADDRESS
Phone credit: Fenton Whelan/Grant Silverman
In Mayfair, the final apartment at Greybrook House – a Grade II-listed Art Deco building originally constructed in 1929 as the London headquarters of piano maker Bechstein – has now been sold for £7.95 million to an international buyer.
Recent sales also included a combined £30.45 million deal to an Abu Dhabi businessman who purchased the duplex penthouse, a neighbouring three-bedroom apartment and a separate staff flat.
The building was modernised by Fenton Whelan to create a bespoke residential address inspired by Claridge’s opposite.
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT
Sanjay Sharma, Co-founding director of Fenton Whelan, says: “We are delighted by the strong sales success over recent months, with international buyers, particularly from the Middle East, representing a new younger generation of purchasers acquiring homes in London.
“International buyers in Prime Central London are choosing to buy newly finished product as a long 20+ year investment, providing them with a London base, access to the wonderful lifestyle and culture of the UK capital, and of course a valuable real estate asset.”
James Van Den Heule, Co-founding director, adds that demand from Gulf buyers had “precipitated our broad expansion overseas”.
Beauchamp Estates said buyers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have accounted for almost 30 per cent of all sales above £5 million across prime central London over the past four months, encouraged by what they perceive as good value in the current market and a desire to complete purchases ahead of the Autumn Budget on 26 November.
GULF RESIDENTS NOT NATIONALS
Yahya Swallem, senior sales consultant at Beauchamp Estates, said London’s trophy home market had become “significantly reliant on Gulf purchasers”, noting a trend of younger families with budgets of £5 million to £30 million.
Many are long-term residents of Gulf cities rather than nationals, including businesspeople originally from India, Pakistan and the UK.
He added that the most sought-after districts for this cohort remain Mayfair and Belgravia, followed by the Hyde Park Estate, Chelsea and Kensington.
Buyers continue to favour new-build or newly refurbished homes that are fully dressed and ready for immediate use, with only a minority purchasing off plan to tailor layouts to specific family requirements or to secure future accommodation for children studying in London.
